Gaming machines which offer wagering games often include the provision for a jackpot. The jackpot may be a large award which is offered at a particular machine in the event one or more particular outcomes are received at that gaming machine.
However, a jackpot may be associated with two or more gaming machines. By linking two or more gaming machines, jackpots may increase in value more quickly (such as where the jackpots are funded by a portion of wagers placed at the machines). Currently it is known to associate a jackpot controller with a bank of gaming machines. The jackpot controller is a computing device which is in communication with each of the gaming machines in the bank of machines. The jackpot controller monitors the play at each gaming machine, such as to detect wagers placed so that the jackpot can be incremented, or to award the jackpot to a player who receives a jackpot winning outcome at one of the machines.
Such a configuration is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,990. Unfortunately, however, this configuration is very inflexible. As illustrated in that patent, the jackpot system requires that the jackpot controller include individual interfaces (23A-D) for each and every gaming machine. This makes expansion of the jackpot system difficult. First, different types of gaming machines may not be connectable to the jackpot controller. Second, to add other gaming machines, the jackpot controller must be modified to include additional interfaces.